MeetMeOnBoard App Helps LGBTQ+ Cruisers Find Like-Minded Travelers

Travel advisor Adam Martindale, a Cruise Planners franchisee, has launched a new app, MeetMeOnBoard, to help LGBTQ+ cruisers find and meet up with other LGBTQ+ travelers. The app, which he said will be a “game changer” for the queer cruiser community, can be used before booking, to find sailings that already have a number of LGBTQ+ cruisers onboard, or after booking to find others to meet up and plan activities with.

According to the press release for the app, it is “tailored for the queer community,” and offers customizable profiles that cruisers can use to find others with similar interests. There is a community forum for people to ask questions, plus users can create custom events and invite others to attend.

The app also provides access to LGBTQ+ resources that have been supplied by various participating cruise lines including Atlas Ocean Voyages, Virgin Voyages, and Uniworld.

“There’s nothing else out there like this,” Martindale told TMR.

“For example, you’re going on a cruise out of Miami and you have a choice of a few different dates. You can see all the cruises and you can see that this cruise has 20 LGBTQ people, this one has 50, and this one has 0,” he explained. “You can actually see the people that are going to be on the cruise before you book, and interact with them.”

The app currently has more than 1,000 users and Martindale said he’s seeing 10 to 20 new people sign up every day.

The MeetMeOnBoard app is an evolution of a website that was first built in 2008 and acquired by Martindale in 2022. The site, which offered a community forum for LGBTQ+ cruisers to interact with each other, also hosted the only comprehensive calendar of LGBTQ+ charters and theme sailings.

The app’s search functionality, which covers most ocean-going and river cruises, is powered by Cruise Planners. Users can book cruises through the app, but that is not the main reason he built it, Martindale said.

“The community and the resource tools. That’s why we did it,” he said. “A lot of gay guys and lesbians, they don’t want to go on a strictly charter cruise. They want to mix with other people, but they want to know the other people onboard so they can get together.”

He added that he hopes other advisors see the app as “a resource for their LGBTQ+ clients…”

Additionally, he and his business partner are currently working on how to incorporate a room-sharing service into the app, so that solo travelers can find a cabin-mate.

“If you like to dance, if you like food, if you like doing outdoor exercise, all that stuff, so you can match up when you see the profile of people that want to do similar things. Cabin sharing is pretty big, so we’re hoping we can solve that issue,” he told TMR.

MeetMeOnboard is available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play.